The 2016 Adams County budget will have no tax increase, the commissioners said.

This has been a busy and stressful time for the Adams County commissioners, said Commissioner Jim Martin. Between re-elections and the state budget impasse, there has been a lot of work to get done.

They can now cross one thing off their list: the county budget.

The Adams County commissioners approved a tentative county budget of $74,558,732 at the Wednesday morning commissioners' meeting. There will be no tax increase, and no programs were cut, said Randy Phiel, commissioner chairman.

The most expensive cost from the budget comes from salaries, as is the case every year, Qually said. The most significant change from the 2015 budget is increased funding to the Adams County Economic Development Corporation, which is working with Destination Gettysburg to help market Adams County, Qually said.

There’s also more money set aside for preservation, he said, and more than $550,000 has been budgeted for the Contingency Reserve Fund.

“Preservation, it hasn’t stopped; it’s continual,” Martin said. “It’s a very important aspect to this area.”

The budget will now go through a 20 day public inspection period. Anyone can review the figures on the county website or pick up a paper copy at the Adams County courthouse.

Paul Kellett, from Freedom Township, suggested the county could host workshops to publicly discuss where money should be spent prior to the budget's drafting.

“Most townships have a budget meeting that’s publicly advertised. These decisions have to be made public,” he said during public comment.

The complexities of county programs and unions might make it difficult for the general public to fully understand how to prepare a budget this large, Solicitor John Hartzell said.

“The pieces are just much more complicated, and the level of knowledge of the people that want to participate do not rise to the level of potentially being the best use of time,” he said.

“The pieces are just much more complicated and the level of knowledge of the people that want to participate do not rise to the level of potentially being the best use of time.”

Phiel added that the 20 day period of public inspection makes budget workshops unnecessary.

“I go back to the fact that as of now, folks on the internet have the ability for 20 days to make any comment they want and any suggestion they want to us. It seems somewhat redundant,” he said. “It’s called a tentative budget because changes can be made.”

The commissioners are still anticipating a surplus between 2 and 3 million dollars from 2015 to be added to the general fund, Phiel said. They’ll know an exact figure when the year ends, he said.